Lisa Recommends: “Symphony of Destruction” by Megadeth

I may be a tame, cubicle dwelling, 38-year-old mother now, but there was once a time when you could find me losing my shoes in a mosh pit. I loved me some punk, hard rock, and metal.

Of course, my mother wasn’t crazy about my choice in music. Like a lot of parents, she thought such music was made by long-haired hooligans running wild around the stage while screaming nonsense. Now, I don’t deny some bands fit the bill. But there were some that actually sang about political and social issues.

One such band was Megadeth. Their album, Countdown to Extinction, featured songs which addressed societal concerns such as war, and economic and social inequality. One song has been stuck in my mind for weeks. It will pop into my head when I’m trying to enter data at work or trying to go to sleep at night. That song is “Symphony of Destruction.”

I wondered why this song was on replay in my brain. It was released in 1992, and I haven’t heard it on the radio in who knows how long. I don’t even have the CD anymore.

Then, I thought about the lyrics.

You take a mortal man

And put him in control

Watch him become a god

Watch people’s heads a’roll

Just like the Pied Piper

Led rats through the streets

We dance like marionettes

Swaying to the symphony

of destruction

So, it doesn’t take a huge stretch of the imagination to make the connection. Yah, shit is crazy in this country right now. And yah, I’m scared and worried and angry and heartbroken.

The thing is, I’m very much a Libra. I avoid confrontation at all costs. I’m also idealistic and optimistic to a fault. I believe everyone is good at their core. And I believe that somehow, someway, people can find a rational, peaceful way to solve problems.

Thing is, not everyone is good at their core. And not everyone is rational and peaceful.

And I’m beginning to think that just sitting here hoping for a resolution to all this madness makes me another rat following the Pied Piper. Maybe if I don’t do something meaningful, I’m just another marionette. And is that what I want? No, I want to jump into that fucking mosh pit and make something happen.